Chicago City Wire

Amid the ongoing illegal immigration crisis, Chicago's 15th Ward Alderman and candidate for the 4th Congressional District, Ray Lopez, is questioning Illinois' status as the "most welcoming state" while raising concerns about human trafficking affecting Chicago.

Lopez directed pointed questions at his fellow Democrats.

“If Illinois is the ‘most welcoming state’ in the nation, how is it other cities can continue the human trafficking to Chicago? How are @GovPritzker & @ILAttyGeneral allowing them to subvert the spirit of the law? Why is @ChicagosMayor not decrying these mayors for adding to our city’s burden?” Lopez asked on X.

Following the City of Chicago's ordinance outlawing unscheduled buses from dropping off illegal immigrants, DuPage County in particular has been seeing nearly a dozen buses per day in some cases dropping off hundreds of illegal immigrants traveling to the area from Texas. In many cases those dumped in DuPage County are then boarding trains bound for Chicago.

On Face the Nation over the weekend Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson pleaded for federal government funds to handle the influx of illegal immigrants.

“What we have is clearly an international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize. And this is unsustainable. None of our local economies are positioned to be able to carry on such a mission,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s recent comments run counter to those he made while running for the mayor’s office in March 2023.

“Chicago must lead with and live by the promise to be a sanctuary city,” Johnson said in a tweet at the time.

“Longtime Chicagoans don't have to lose for new arrivals to gain — there's enough space at the table for all of us to sit and eat.”

“Immigrants are welcome here.”

Lopez has been consistently outspoken on the illegal immigration issue.

In December he emphasized the escalating southern border situation as a national security concern.

He criticized the Biden Administration and Congress, dismissing accusations of racism from his March 19 congressional primary opponent U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) as a distraction.

Lopez has said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are responsible for border challenges, expressing frustration with the lack of accountability towards Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

He linked the border crisis to the recent death of a five-year-old boy at a migrant shelter in Pilsen, Chicago, and vowed to bring common sense to the Democratic Party on the issue.

In the fall, following a contentious Chicago City Council, Lopez criticized aggressive tactics and harassment, singling out Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the Floor Leader for Mayor Johnson, for his behavior during the proceedings as the city council discussed a referendum to repeal Chicago’s “sanctuary city” status.

Lopez emphasized the connection between the city's Welcoming City Ordinance and the influx of asylum-seekers and underscored the need for Chicagoans to have a say in the matter.

Lopez accused the mayor's team of bending rules and obstructing the proceedings. Ramirez-Rosa later stepped down due to the criticisms.

However, the attempt to bring the matter to the voters was ultimately unsuccessful.

Lopez has represented the 15th Ward since 2015.

The 4th Congressional District includes the Chicago neighborhoods of Brighton Park, West Elsdon, and South Lawndale; most of New City, Pilsen, Chicago Lawn, Clearing, Garfield Ridge and Bridgeport; the Cook County communities of Burbank, Berwyn, Cicero, Brookfield, LaGrange Park, Northlake, Melrose Park, Berkeley and Franklin Park; and the Dupage County communities of Hinsdale, Elmhurst and Oak Brook.